There is so much talk nowadays about Cloud computing I thought it might be helpful to discuss the topic in a way that I think everyone can understand. So here is a three-part article on Cloud computing broken up in three topics: (1) What is Cloud computing, (2) What are the benefits of Cloud computing and (3) What is the future of Cloud computing?

According to Wikipedia,cloud computing is internet computing whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand similar to an electricity grid.

Cloud computing is a paradigm shift following the shift from mainframe to client-server in the early 1980s. Details are abstracted from the users, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supports them. Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for IT services based on the Internet, and it typically involves over-the-Internet-provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources. It is a byproduct and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet.

The term “cloud” is used as a metaphor for the internet, based on the cloud drawing used in the past to represent the telephone network, and later to depict the Internet in computer network diagram as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents. Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online that are accessed from another Web service or software such as a Web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.

Most cloud computing infrastructure consists of services delivered through common centers and built on servers. Clouds often appear as single points of access for all consumers’ computing needs. Commercial offerings are generally expected to meet quality of service (QoS) requirements of customers and typically include SLAs. The major cloud-only service providers include Salesforce.com, Amazon and Google.

According to wikiinvest.com, a simple example of cloud computing is Yahoo email or Gmail. You don’t need software or a server to use them. All a consumer needs is an internet connection and you can start sending emails. The server and email management software is all on the cloud (internet) and is totally managed by the cloud service provider Yahoo, Google, etc. The consumer uses the software alone and enjoys the benefits.

Here is a great article for all you “do it yourselfers” who want to perform SEO on your own websites. Of course, we don’t recommend this because, well, because we provide SEO for our clients…and charge for it. But that’s OK, give it a try anyway.

The article is filled with excellent tips – some general, some very technical – that might require the help of your web designer, but there are some that you might be able to do yourself if you have a content management system (CMS) or can edit the content in your site. To name a few: page names, directory structure, Meta tags, flash, navigation, and much more. Even if you don’t want to do your own SEO, you’ll find good information in the article that is useful for any website owner.

Many of our clients are utilizing videos in their websites, and often the topic comes up: Is there any way that we can use our videos for SEO (search engine optimization)? Good question!

Gary Przyklen, in this article on how to optimize videos for SEO, shares some of his success formulas for optimizing videos using YouTube. If there were an algorithm for YouTube – as there is for Google – it might involve the following three criteria:

Text in your titles and descriptions

Number of views and recent trending

Ratings

Gary ends his article with the following advice: “Although video isn’t new to the web, many marketers and businesses fail to make the best use of tools and social networks that will take their video and SEO results to the next level. If you’re going to invest time and money in boosting your SEO efforts this year, do yourself a favor and start considering video in your marketing mix. You’ll be glad you did.”

“Show me your website and I can tell you who you are in the business world” might be one of the newest quotes heard from business owners these days. Your website has become your company’s identity. In traditional “off line” business jargon, your website is like your store or shop, where people may be attracted to go inside and check the products/services you offer or just pass you by.

In this age of advanced technology and easy access to the internet, a business’ online presence has become so very important. If you’re a serious entrepreneur or business person, you can’t “just” have a website, you have to have a website that is well designed, one that is not “just” attractive but (“just” as important) easy to navigate, complete with online support and services, professional-looking with valuable information and content, and able to not only capture the visitor’s attention but retain existing client loyalty for your product/service. In other words, the design of your website can either make or break your business’ brand. This is why web design is so important to your business.

Your web design must convince prospects that you mean business. It must reflect your company’s competence and reliability. You have to be able to convey all of the most important details your prospects should know right at the outset in order to keep them on the site and prevent them from clicking away from the home page. (Next time you check your site statistics, look for the number of bounces.)

As a web design company, we of course recommend hiring a competent web design company with experience and a portfolio of sites to show with testimonials from satisfied clients. There are so many “do it yourself” website applications – you could certainly try to design your own site. But don’t! It’s not worth the cost savings because in the long run it will end up costing more in terms of lost business and dissatisfied clients.

With a well-designed professional site – built by professionals – you will have a secure foundation on which to grow your business. You’ll also have a professional staff at your disposal to help you with marketing your site online and helping you expand your site as new technology emerges or as your needs for new features arise. Once your site has been launched and running properly it will be time to go into marketing mode. Be prepared!